The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Loved this book! It's sort of a cross between Hunger Games, Divergent, and Lord of the Flies. Great characters, plenty of twists, and a satisfying ending that still leaves me dying with impatience for the sequel. I didn't love the cover, and the romance in the book could have been played out a little better, but over all, it was a very enjoyable reading experience. If you liked any of the books I mentioned above, you'll enjoy The Forsaken. (Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher.)

Here's the Amazon blurb:

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.